Microsoft accused of locking out Linux in EU antitrust complaint

A Spanish group that represents open source software users has accused Microsoft of using an "obstruction mechanism" to prevent buyers of Windows 8 computers from installing Linux-based operating systems.

That mechanism, of course, is UEFI Secure Boot, which improves boot-time security on machines designed to run Windows 8 by only booting operating systems signed with a trusted certificate. This requirement led to much consternation among Linux users in the months prior to the Windows 8 launch.

The 8,000-member Spanish open source group, Hispalinux, said in a complaint filed today with the European Commission that UEFI Secure Boot is "a de facto technological jail for computer booting systems... making Microsoft's Windows platform less neutral than ever.